Spring at Warkworth

The first hints of spring tempted me on an hour long bus ride out of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, heading north to Warkworth. Once the X18 bus had dropped me off at a stop on the edge of the village I took a wander over to my destination for the day, the impressive ruins of Warkworth Castle.

Warkworth is a pretty village today, with a population hovering somewhere around the 1,500 mark, so it is a little hard to imagine how much power was centred here back in the day. In its time Warkworth Castle was one of the most important castles in the north, home to the all-powerful Percy family. If you are not well versed in the noble dynasties of medieval England, then the name Harry Hotspur may be more familiar. The knight that Shakespeare elevated to legendary rebel in Henry IV, Part 1, was born as Henry Percy at Warkworth on 20th May 1364.

The Great Tower at Warkworth Castle

Unlike other places which have long since lost any sense of their medieval form, here you really feel the connection between village and castle, following the road up from the fortified 14th century bridge, past the 12th century church, along the stone-clad high street and up to the castle on the high ground above it.

The earliest sections of the castle are thought to date to the 1200s but the most impressive sight is the Great Tower, commissioned by Henry Percy (1341-1408), first Earl of Northumberland, which may have been designed by the same architect as Durham Cathedral. It survived intact until the late 17th century but was then stripped of useful material and left to ruin. As stunning a sight as it is today, we have to imagine how much more impressive it must have looked with all of its battlements, turrets and ornamentation intact.

Approaching the castle in the spring is a joy with daffodils planted up the outside slope running up to the Great Tower. To be honest, everything about the castle screamed magnificence in the morning sun – from the exterior walls, to the impressive 13th century gatehouse and then, once inside, the elaborate 15th century Lion Tower which prominently features the Percy Lion in a rich display of heraldic sculpture. At one time this would have led in to the hall range, now reduced to the merest hint of its layout traced through the base stones.

You can wander the Great Tower on three levels. On the ground floor are the service chambers, which includes the beer/wine cellars and food stores that you would expect, but also an accounting room which I can’t recall seeing in other castles. The accounting room was a secure and self-contained chamber, complete with its own toilet and a safe beneath the floor. On the upper two floors you have the kitchen, great hall, chapel and private chambers. It doesn’t take as long as you might expect to explore, but definitely needs a guide book or an audio guide to fully understand what you are looking at.

The entrance hall in the lowest level of the Great Tower

It is fascinating to think that this was once a fully functional everyday home, as the favoured residence of the Percys, despite having a larger, swankier and generally more prestigious pad just up the road at Alnwick.

The castle suffered quite a come down in the 17th century, reduced to a shelter for sheep and goats, but from this low eventually recovered with a phase of rebuilding directed by the Percys in the late 18th and 19th centuries (including the roofing of a couple of rooms in the Great Tower for use by the Percy family for picnics). It seems extraordinary to read in the guidebook that the Great Tower was even approved for use as an air raid shelter in 1940!

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the castle and my wander through the village afterwards. The castle may be a ruin today but it still impresses even in its diminished state.

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Wrapping-up Durham and Newcastle

My short break in Durham and Newcastle has been a great way to re-connect with the place and visit some places that have been on my wish-list for so long that I had well and truly forgotten about them! However, it would feel wrong to finish up the trip without mentioning a few other highlights that I haven’t picked up on already.

The first day of my trip to Durham just happened to coincide with the Fire and ice festival in Durham which saw a trail of 10 ice sculptures installed around the city, so armed with a map handed out by a volunteer I set about tracing them. Now, these were not just your average ice sculptures but a rather amusing set of TV and film themed ice sculptures, so we had an ice dalek and an ice demogorgon! On top of this there was some impressive live ice carving of Sonic the hedgehog and a spectacular ice carving show.

Ice dalek

Understandably, most visitors to Durham focus on the Cathedral and the Castle, but it’s really worth seeking out the Durham World Heritage Visitor Centre located within Palace Green Library which provides to access to one of Durham’s hidden gems, the Cosin Library, and the wonderful Museum of Archaeology.

Cosin’s Library, founded in 1669, is the oldest surviving public library in the North East. Admittedly, the definition of public at this time was limited to the clergy and men of education, but it was still an important development in widening access to learned thinking. Once the university was established in 1832 the Cosin Library and neighbouring Exchequer Building became the university library.

Cosin’s Library

I was astonished to read that it was in the Cosin Library that the arrangement of bookshelves along the walls was a European innovation first introduced here. It’s something that we take for granted now that it’s hard to imagine that someone came up with this idea! It’s a beautiful space to visit too.

The Museum of Archaeology is relatively small, but features some cracking finds. The absolute star here was the Lanchester Diploma, discovered by a metal detectorist in County Durham in 2016, consisting of two inscribed rectangular bronze plates. It is the first complete Fleet Diploma discovered in the country, telling us about the career of Veluotigernus in the Roman navy, the second oldest known sailor in the country. A rare survival too, as most diplomas were broken up and passed on to family, allowing them to claim Roman citizenship.

One plate from the Lanchester Diploma

In addition to the sights I have already written about I also spent time in Newcastle, notably revisiting the castle which I haven’t set foot in for over twenty years. It was great to be reacquainted with the story of how the castle keep survived numerous threats and the arrival of the railway. Of course, it was also great to be remined of what a great view over the railway you get from the battlements too!

I’ve had a great time in the north east once again, but rather than shortening my list of places to see the list seems to grow ever longer as I discover new places and historic buildings to visit that I was not aware of. Not really a problem, as it is always a pleasure to come back.

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A stop at St Mary’s Lighthouse

On leaving the hall I made a short hop by bus to take a quick look at St Mary’s Lighthouse, just north of Whitley Bay. The lighthouse, operational from 1898 to 1984, sits on a small island reached by causeway that covers over at high tide. It was a splendid spot to stop off at and soak up the sun on a wonderfully clear winters day.

St Mary’s Lighthouse

The island sits within a local nature reserve and the island presents a perfect spot to observe roosting birds and seals basking on the rocks. As the causeway covered over the last few intrepid humans splashed their way through and a couple of birds took up a safe spot on the causeway, as if to say this was their territory once again. Among the birds you might spot are sanderling, dunlin, turnstones, curlew and redshanks – attracted by the abundance of food on offer on the beach here.

I’ve been here once before, many years ago, but it was nice to take the time to wander around and get a proper look at the outside. You can go up the lighthouse for splendid views along the coast, but my timings were off, arriving just as they were closing up. Opening times are tide dependant, allowing enough time for safe crossing to and from the island (take a look at the daily timings published on the official website).

Taking time out from my walk, I found one of the many benches along the coast, popped on some music and watched the tide steadily sweep in then continued on my way, heading south to Whitley Bay and back into Newcastle.

Along the coast to Seaton Delaval

On a gloriously sunny, if a little frosty, morning I headed out from Newcastle armed with an Arriva coastliner ticket for a ride out to see a couple of the sights on the coast around Whitley Bay and Seaton Sluice. My first stop was Seaton Delaval Hall, one of the finest stately homes in the north east.

The estate at Seaton had been home to the Delaval family since they had been granted the land by William II, but it almost fell out of family ownership when hard times forced Sir John Delaval to put the estate up for sale in 1717. Luckily, the buyer was his cousin, Admiral George Delaval, had ambitious plans.

The central hall at Seaton Delaval

Admiral George Delaval commissioned one of the most sought after architects of the age, Sir John Vanbrugh, whose fame was built on projects like Castle Howard and Blenheim Palace, to create a new family home in place of the crumbling mansion. It’s a marvellously dramatic building with some lovely naval elements to the design (harpoons, tridents and sea creatures) but sadly neither man would see the realisation of their shared vision, both dying before the completion of works. Today, the hall stands as a fine tribute to Vanbrugh’s genius, with relatively little alteration to his designs – whereas his grand buildings in other places have been much modified by later architects.

Over the coming decades the hedonistic next generation of the family acquired a reputation for notoriety, earning the family the nickname of the Gay Delavals, with many of their extravagances centred on the hall. Among many lavish events, the family had a stage erected within the hall for theatrical performances.

The last of the Delavals died in 1814 and six years later a great fire engulfed the hall. Over five hours the blaze inflicted catastrophic damage to the central hall and one of the wings, but the east and west wings were spared. For four decades the central hall was exposed to the elements, until a new owner, Baron Hastings, had the hall re-roofed. This was as far as any plans to reconstruct the hall got.

After a spell of use as an army barracks and prisoner of war camp during the second world war, the Hastings family regained control and set about restoring the buildings so that they could be opened to the public. The National Trust took ownership in 2009 and set about a new phase of conservation.

Anchor in the basement

As the fire destroyed most of the interior furnishings the National Trust have filled the rooms with a series of creative and playful installations that connect us with the story of the house and the family. Among these is a giant anchor in the Housekeeper’s Room and a ship in a bottle, reminding us of the family’s maritime connections, while a table made from coal reminds us of the source of the family wealth. Some of the rooms in the wings celebrate the Delaval’s love of playing tricks. In the gardens a couple of mirror installations provide some added delight.

The central hall is not completely unoccupied though, as the cool and stable temperature of the hall has made it a popular hibernation spot for bats, who return every winter. Five species of bats have been recorded here.

One other surprising and delightful find here was the collection store, a display of items brought into the collection of the National Trust after being accepted by the Acceptance in Lieu (AiL) scheme that allows folk to pay inheritance tax through the donation of significant artworks and historical objects for public ownership. Among the varied items on display today were an 18th century bust of a young Marcus Aurelius before his ascendancy to Roman emperor; a 16th century etched and gilt steel target shield; and a 16th century oil painting on panel of John Astley of Maidstone, Master of the Jewel Office.

Funeral hatchments in the Church of Our Lady

After visiting the hall I made my way over to the Church of Our Lady, outside of the National Trust lands, which was luckily open to visitors on the day I stopped by. The church, rebuilt by Hubert Laval, was consecrated in 1102 and is still in use today.

The interior is well worth seeing, including four striking diamond shaped funeral hatchments for the Delavals; the font from the original Saxon church; and an unusual stained glass window depicting Arthur, elder brother of Henry VIII. The stained glass image of Arthur was originally part of the London Colosseum, at Regents Park in London, until that was consumed by fire in 1841. Thanks to the volunteers for the wonderful tour and pointing out the rich array of features that make this church so fascinating.

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An extraordinary underground wagonway

On my previous trips to Newcastle I had no idea that one of the most interesting sights lay beneath my feet.

The Victoria Tunnel is a remarkable underground wagonway that ran for 3.6km from Spital Tongues to the junction of the Tyne and the Ouseburn, passing under the centre of the city near City Hall. Today, you can visit a section of the tunnel on a guided tour. It was an opportunity I could not pass up and booked myself on a two hour long tour covering its construction, operation and later use as a shelter during wartime.

It’s hard now to imagine the world in which the tunnel was constructed. Newcastle was surrounded by coal mines feeding an insatiable demand for more coal from industry (to put this in context, 25m tonnes of coal were produced by the UK in 1825 but by 1853 this had risen to 71m tonnes). The quayside at Newcastle was packed with colliers waiting to transport the coal to London and beyond. The city was sufficiently synonymous with coal mining that the phrase “like taking coals to Newcastle” emerged as a way of describing a pointless activity.

The challenge of efficiently transporting coal from the collieries to the docks was nothing new. In the late 17th century wooden wagonways, known as “Newcastle roads”, were being developed across the Great Northern Coalfield to provide a smoother and faster route to the waiting ships. Initially these would have been horse drawn, but steam locomotives started hauling coal trains in the early 1800s. The earliest surviving steam locomotives in the world are from the coalfields surrounding the Tyne such as Puffing Billy (1813-14), Wylam Dilly (1813) and Killingworth Billy (1816).

The Victoria Tunnel

The owners of the Spital Tongues Colliery were still transporting their coal to the Tyne by horse and cart through the streets of Newcastle. Not only was this unpopular with the local residents, it was also slow and expensive. Envious of the other collieries, the owners applied to build their own surface level wagonway through Jesmond. After this plan was rejected by the town council, a new plan for an underground wagonway was proposed and accepted. Work on construction started in 1839 and the wagonway was officially opened on 7th April 1842.

The wagonway devised by William Gillespie for Porter and Latimer was ingenious. Fully laden coal wagons would roll down to the quayside with their rate of descent kept in check by a rope attached to a stationary steam engine at the colliery. Once the wagons were emptied the steam engine would haul them back up.

The effort of constructing the wagonway was soon repaid with a dramatic reduction in costs. However, this was not enough to save the colliery from financial troubles and eventual closure. In the end, the wagonway lasted for less than 20 years.

The tunnel got a new lease of life as a shelter during World War Two, which saw the addition of blast walls; a new floor with drainage channel; electric lighting; benches/bunk beds for a small number of the occupants; and seven entrances.

The contrast with the impressive shelters built in London is stark and it is not a surprise to hear that they remained a damp and unpleasant space to shelter, prompting complaints to the Minister of Health. A civil servant sent up to investigate the situation reported back his patronising conclusion, that this being a mining district, the “persons who will shelter in this tunnel are possibly better fitted constitutionally to resist underground and damp conditions than those in the south.”

Blast wall inside the tunnel

The tunnel is no longer navigable from end to end. The northern end was filled in and the quayside entrance demolished long ago; the middle section was incorporated into the city sewers; and another section is accessible to investigators but in an unsafe state for visitors. However, one section in Ouseburn was made fit for visitors and first opened to the public in 1998.

Once we were kitted out with hard hats and torches we were able to enter the tunnel. Over two hours our wonderful tour guide gave us a brilliant insight into the construction of the tunnel and its operation, plus its later use as a shelter. It certainly needed a guide to point out the features that survive from that wartime period and help us appreciate how uncomfortable a space it would have been. Finally, on our return to the exit we heard the particularly tragic tale of the only known death in the tunnel that felt all the more chilling in the tight space where it occurred.

On a tour like this so much hinges on the volunteers to bring the story to life and our guide did that in spades. I can honestly say that it was one of the best guided tours that I can recall, far surpassing my expectations. Absolutely fantastic and well worth making time in your schedule for.

Back on the Tyne

Somehow over 20 years have passed since I last spent any time in Newcastle. There was a time, around the turn of the century, when I was around a bit – going to the clubs and bars, catching up with mates and exploring the sights around the city and on the coast. Some of that I can remember quite vividly even today, but there must be plenty I have long forgotten. One thing was clear – the moment I arrived I knew my way around like I had never been away. It was good to be back.

It was strange to go exploring as things that were new or up and coming on my last visits were now well established. The last time I visited the quayside was awash with new artworks installed in the mid to late 1990s, plans were afoot to convert the Baltic Flour Mills into an art centre and install a new pedestrian bridge over the Tyne. All of that is now a couple of decades old and part of a well trodden tourist trail.

A view across the Tyne. The High Level Bridge (1849) and Swing Bridge (1876).

The Tyne bridges are still every bit as magnificent to behold as they ever were. The Tyne Bridge (1928) is probably in similar shape to the last time I saw it – it is just about to undergo the next refresh (it was last refurbished and repainted in 2001). Meanwhile, a campaign has been launched to secure funding to get the swing bridge turning again (it last turned in 2019) in time for its 150th anniversary in 2026.

It was good to wander round the city centre and remind myself of familiar sights, but also to finally get the chance to visit the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art where I checked out The Waiting Gardens of the North by Iraqi-American artist Michael Rakowitz, a fascinating indoor garden featuring a recreation of a relief panel from Nineveh using food wrappers from local South Asian and African grocers. The views across the Tyne from the balconies of the centre are pretty impressive too.

Detail from the recreated panel in The Waiting Gardens of the North at the Baltic

The reason for my stay in the city was a rather extraordinary sold out hometown gig by Andrew Cushin at City Hall. I don’t usually follow artists from early-ish in their career, but picked up on a recommendation from Sam Fender on Twitter in mid 2020 after the release of his second single. It has been great to see how the momentum behind him has grown since then. As the Independent so neatly put it, there has to be something rather special to unite the somewhat unlikely combination of Pete Doherty, Louis Tomlinson and Noel Gallagher.

I don’t think I can recall seeing a more passionate and wide-ranging crowd (from youngsters to oldies) supporting an artist before, nor such a great pre-gig buzz. Maybe, I haven’t experienced gigs in Newcastle though! Before Andrew appeared on stage there were folk waving giant NUFC flags and a crowd boisterously singing along to the Jimmy Nail song Big River, but that was nothing compared to the rapturous welcome extended to Andrew mid-gig with the 2,500 strong crowd singing “Andrew Cushin he is one of our own.” No wonder Andrew was so emotional on that stage – he seemed understandably choked as he described it as the best night of his life. It was a brilliant gig.

Andrew Cushin headlining at Scala, London, earlier this year

While in the city I couldn’t miss the new Sam Fender mural (part of an Adidas advertisement campaign) that has appeared on Morden Street. It’s great to see the recognition for such an incredible and unique local songwriter, even if the mural doesn’t seem to be the greatest likeness.

The one thought running through my head as I wandered around was how on earth I had allowed over 20 years to pass before returning to a city I have always loved and with the friendliest folk you will find (as demonstrated on a few occasions, most notably when the trains went into meltdown). I won’t make that mistake again and already have the next tickets booked…

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